Wednesday

RAYNHAM — Youth soccer coach Scott Dolan always tells the kids to play their hearts out and keep their sense of humor.

Even it the game doesn’t go the way they wanted.

Even if they get a bad call.

Now, he’s not just telling them, he’s living those words.

“A little girl said to me, ‘You’re such a nice person. Why did something bad happen to you?’ I said, ‘It was just my turn. Sometimes when you get sick you’ve got to work hard to feel better’,” Dolan said in a telephone interview last week.

“I said, ‘Look at all the good things that have happened since I got sick, how many people have stepped up to help’,” Dolan said.

In August, the Raynham resident was diagnosed with a stage 3 malignant brain tumor, known as an anaplastic astrocytoma, after suffering a pair of frightening seizures, something he’s never experienced before.

“It’s just life. You get hit. You get back up. You fight,” said Dolan, who has coached at Stonehill College, Wheaton College, Bridgewater State University, Oliver Ames High School, Rayham Youth Soccer, Easton Youth Soccer and elsewhere over the course of his career and is currently a coach at Legacy Soccer in Easton.

He’s not fighting alone.

Colleagues, players, families, friends and the Raynham and Easton communities have rallied around him, said Peg Hetherington, who is helping Dolan’s friend Bob Moore of Raynham organize “Scott’s Big Fight” fundraiser, featuring live performances at the American Legion in Raynham on Sunday, Oct. 14.

“Work hard. Life’s not fair. If you don’t like it, deal with it. Be the best you can be right now. If you do that, don’t worry about anything else,” Dolan said.

Life’s not fair. That could sound cynical.

But that’s not the way he means it.

“Last week we didn’t play great and we won. This week we lost but we played our minds out. You can’t control the other team. You can’t control the referee. You can control yourself. If you control yourself then you did a good job,” Dolan said.

Scott’s Big Fight Fundraiser, featuring live performances by Push and Trick’d Out, will be held on Sunday, Oct. 14 at 1 p.m. at the American Legion, 291 Mill St., Raynham. Tickets can be purchased at the door and are $20 for adults and $10 for children. There will be food and raffles.

The Big Fight Fundraiser Monster Mash Soccer Friendlies for ages U10-U14 will be held Saturday, Oct. 27 from 3-7 p.m. at the Raynham Soccer Fields. The entry fee is $200 per team. For more information contact TheBigFightFundraiser@outlook.com.